AT&T Nokia Lumia 925 Review

The Nokia Lumia 925 is a fantastic Windows Phone that is now available at AT&T. We've shared our first impressions and unboxing of the Lumia 925 late last week and now we take a little closer look at the latest AT&T and Nokia offering.

The AT&T Nokia Lumia 925 is almost identical to the unlocked version and the T-Mobile variant that we've covered previously. However, AT&T is only offering the Lumia 925 in black and it works with AT&T's LTE network. The Lumia 925 has made a very good first impression and the more we use it, the more the Lumia 925 grows on us.

Is it strong enough to push us away from the Lumia 1020? What about the Lumia 920? Maybe.... just maybe.

Where do you start? The Lumia 925 may not be perfect but the positives include comfortable size and weight, excellent camera performance, attractive appearance (even though it's not offered in yellow), fantastic looking screen and it comes loaded with the latest OS build in GDR2.

It's hard to find anything terribly bad with the Lumia 925. Some may not like the micro-USB port placement at the top of the phone, some may not like the 16GB of internal storage and then there's that odd looseness in the back corners. But nothing is detrimental to the Lumia 925's overall performance.

The Lumia 925 is a solid Windows Phone that will appeal to many. It's 4.5" AMOLED screen is vibrant and responsive to the touch. It sports an 8.7MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and a Zeiss lens that is a solid performer. Along with all the positive features, the Lumia 925 is also economically priced delivering a high-end Windows Phone to consumers for under $100.

The Design

In a nutshell, the AT&T Nokia Lumia 925 is a well designed, solidly built Windows Phone that feels rather pleasant in the hand. The tale of the tape has the Lumia 925 measuring 5.08 x 2.78 x .33 inches and weighs only 4.9 ounces (feels lighter though).

Then you have the Lumia 920 that measures 5.13 x 2.79 x .42 inches and weighs 6.5 ounces (which isn't that heavy).

In the hand, as on paper, the Lumia 925 feels lighter and thinner than both the Lumia 1020 and 920. It is a rather agreeable fit and feel.

The design of the Lumia 925 is your typical Windows Phone Lumia with the volume rocker, power button and camera button falling on the right side of the phone. Up top you have the micro-SIM Card tray, headphone jack and your micro-USB port. The speaker has been moved from the bottom of the phone to the back of the Lumia 925.

I'm not particularly fond of the micro-USB port being at the top of the phone. It works, but it feels more natural with the port resting at the bottom, which also serves better when using it in the car for navigation.

The buttons on the Lumia 925 are raised ever so slightly to be distinguishable and lack any softness or mushiness (but make sure you check your power button when you first unbox your device). The aluminum sides and matte black backing look handsome and the thinner form factor allows the Lumia 925 to rest comfortably in your hand.

The Lumia 925 is fitted with a 8.7MP rear camera and 1.2MP front camera. The rear camera does rise up a smidgen from the back of the device resulting in a small but barely noticeable "hump". Next to the rear camera is a dual LED flash/light. The rise is slightly curved to minimize its impact.

Appearance wise, while the Lumia 925 is only available in matte black at AT&T but it looks fantastic. The aluminum sides compliment the matte black backing giving the Lumia 925 a professional and stealthy appearance. The aluminum is cool to the touch but it is a little on the slick side. Combined with the lighter weight, don't be surprised if the Lumia 925 tries to jump out of your hands until you get accustomed to handling the phone. We do recommend a case if you are prone to dropping your phone. Metal hitting pavement is a recipe for disaster in marring up your new smartphone.

There is one minor nit with the design of the Lumia 925 and to be honest, if Dan hadn't noticed it on the Lumia 925 he picked up from AT&T I might not have noticed it on the review unit I received. The Lumia 925 departs from the uni-body design of the Lumia 920 and it has a two-piece body. You have the aluminum frame and a poly-carbonate, non-removable backing. In the upper corners of the Lumia 925 there is a slight give in the polycarb back, a slight wiggle if you will, where you can press the corners into the frame just a hair.

The looseness seems to vary a little and while I don't think the backing will suddenly fall off there may be enough of a gap on some units where dust could get inside the Lumia 925. By no means is this a deal breaker, just something to be aware of when you pick up your Lumia 925 for the first time.

Aside from the 'give' in the Lumia 925's backing, the build quality is solid and ergonomic. The design is appealing (save maybe for the micro-USB port placement) and overall most customers will be pleased with the Lumia 925 from a design stand point.

The Hardware

The Lumia 925 is fitted with a 4.5" AMOLED PureMotion HD+ Screen with Super Sensitive Touch. All of which is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 2.

We've always been a fan of AMOLED screens and the Lumia 925 is no exception. Colors have a bit of pop and the deep contrast adds to the quality appearance of the 925's display. Indoors, the screen really shines with color and contrast--in fact, it may be too bright even when set to Auto. Compared to the T-Mobile version, AT&T seems to have gone for a brighter, slightly more contrasty display on their Lumia 925 offering. Outdoors, the Lumia 925's screen isn't a pushover as it's very usable in direct sunlight.

The driving force beneath the Lumia 925's hood is a 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. It is matched up with 1GB of RAM and powered by a 2,000mAh battery. Wireless features include your standard Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (v3.0) and NFC technologies. The Lumia 925 is 4G LTE compatible.

Internal storage is 16GB which should be plenty for most Windows Phone users. It would be nice if it was 32GB or had a microSD card slot but with all the cloud storage options available 16GB should meet your needs--your mileage may vary. You may have to manage things a little closer, but 16GB is plenty for the average user. If not, customers still have the Lumia 920 or 1020 to serve as alternatives.

One hardware feature that is missing that we all have been spoiled by the Lumia 920 is Qi wireless charging. I understand Nokia had to make concessions to get the Lumia 925 as thin and light as it is (and to keep costs down). Optionally you can still have wireless charging through a wireless charging cover, which is being offered for free through Microsoft Stores.

Once all the pieces of the puzzle are put into place under the hood of the Lumia 925, you have a strong performer on your hands. Battery life makes it through the day without breaking a sweat, the processor pushes the software around with ease, and 16GB of storage is manageable.

The Camera

The Lumia 925 is fitted with an 8.7MP rear camera and a 1.2MP front camera. The rear camera has a Backside Illuminated (BSI) sensor, optical image stabilization (OSI) and a 26mm f/2.0 Carl Zeiss lens. The Lumia 925 improves upon the Lumia 920 by adding a new sixth lens-element that improves image sharpness, especially during day light shots. All of which makes the camera well suited for a wide range of lighting conditions, especially low light photography.

The software driving the camera includes the native Windows Phone camera app as well as the alternative of Nokia's Pro Cam.

Nokia Pro Cam Viewfinder and Settings

While the native camera app does a good job of things, the Pro Cam app really makes the camera shine. From a user friendly layout to the zoom later feature, the Pro Cam will quickly become your "go-to" camera app.

As we've experienced on the Lumia 1020 the zoom later feature on Pro Cam can be a very useful tool. Granted with the smaller 8.7MP image you can't zoom as much but the results are still impressive.

Nokia Lumia 925 Sample Photo Un-Cropped

Nokia Lumia 925 Photo Sample "Zoomed Later"

Image quality on the Lumia 925 is inviting. Images have nice color, contrast and sharpness. Video footage is equally appealing and the High Amplitude Auctio Capture (HAAC) microphones filters out background noise exceptionally well. The video below was shot at a small park that sits next to a major highway. You can barely hear the rush hour traffic in the background.

Low light photography is notable on the Lumia 925. I did notice a little more motion blur when lighting was at a minimum but overall the Lumia 925 handled lower lighting conditions respectably. The gnome photo was taken at night with the only lighting available was a solar powered accent lamp. The baseball and padlock were illuminated by a porch lamp. I shouldn't complain about the motion blur on either photo for they were shot handheld at a shutter speed of .3 seconds.

Nokia Lumia 925 Low-Light Sample Photo

Nokia Lumia 925 Low-Light Photo Sample

As far as macro photography is concerned, the Lumia 925 does focus slightly closer than the Lumia 1020. Nokia lists the minimum focusing distance as being just over 3 inches (8cm) but it felt more like 4-5 inches in real world use. Regardless of the difference, the Lumia 925 performed just fine with close-up images. Add the zoom later feature and it comes close to glowing.

Nokia Lumia 925 Close-up Photo Sample

Nokia Lumia 925 Close-up Sample

Nokia Lumia 925 Photo Sample

So how does the Lumia 925 compare to the Lumia 1020's camera? In many respects that's an apples/oranges comparison. It's like comparing a DSLR to a high end point and shoot. Both can capture great pictures but go about it a little different. I will say that it appears the Lumia 925's camera is a touch sharper than what we see in the Lumia 920. Colors also seem to have a little more pop to them.

If the weather cooperates over the next few days, we'll look into doing a comparison between the three Lumia cameras. Regardless of how things stack up, the Lumia 925 has a very pleasing camera that will capture all your life moments rather attractively.

Nokia Lumia 925 Sample Photo

The Software

The AT&T Lumia 925 comes loaded with Windows Phone OS build 1328 (GDR2) but it still lacks Data Sense for keeping track of your data usage. Along with preloaded software such as Microsoft Office and OneNote, the Lumia 925 comes with your standard AT&T software suite (Family Maps, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Footlocker, etc.) and a ton of titles from the Nokia Collection (Creative Studio, HERE Drive, Nokia Music, Nokia Cinemagraph, etc.), all of which is removable.

Nokia Lumia 925 Settings

Outside of that you have the Weather Channel App, Vimeo, Vyclone and YPMobile (Yellow Pages) apps as well.

Vyclone, Vimeo, and The Weather Channel Apps

The marvel of it all is that some of these apps you may not want and can easily uninstall. If ever comes a time you find yourself in need of what you've uninstalled, all you have to do is head to the AT&T section of the Store app and re-install it. We may still have bloatware but it's not as permanent a fixture as it used to be.

The Telephone

With all the capabilities our Windows Phones possess, it's easy to lose sight that these devices are telephones. The Lumia 925's performance as a phone is on par with any other Nokia Lumia Windows Phone.

Cellular reception was good with the Lumia 925 but even when coverage dropped a few bars, there are too many variables at play to lay blame with the phone.

As far as telephone performance is concerned, we find no complaints with the Lumia 925.

Compared to the Lumia 1020 and Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920, 925 and 1020

So is the Nokia Lumia 925 strong enough to lure Windows Phone users away from the Lumia 1020?

Let me say from the onset, both are fantastic Windows Phones within their own right. Whichever the choice, you'll find yourself with a very capable Windows Phone. While the two phones have a lot of similarities on paper, I see three areas that stand out that separates these two Windows Phones: price, the camera, and the fit and feel.

If you look at your smartphone as a primary photographic instrument that you depend on to capture life moments, the Lumia 1020 is the way to go. While the Lumia 925 has a respectable camera, the Lumia 1020 has the best smartphone camera on the market. Hands down. The Lumia 925 can capture some stunning images but the capabilities of the Lumia 1020 with it's 41MP image puts it in a league of its own.

If you are looking for a quality camera but prefer a lighter, thinner Windows Phone then the Lumia 925 would be the way to go. The Lumia 925 is so light that at times you'll forget it is in your pocket. The Lumia 1020 isn't a boat anchor by any means, but the half-ounce difference is surprisingly noticeable. Yes, the Lumia 1020 has a more robust camera but the Lumia 925's camera is very capable within its own right.

Regarding costs, the Lumia 1020 has dropped in price but it is still $100 more expensive on contract than the Lumia 925. Move to off-contract pricing and the difference more than doubles ($430 versus $609). While I think the Lumia 1020 is worth every penny, if you are on a budget, the Lumia 925 will serve you well and save a few pennies along the way.

I am really impressed with the Lumia 925 and the more I use it, the more I like it. However, I like the Lumia 1020 just a little more and with my photographic background the camera is just too hard to resist.

But what about the Lumia 920--is it worth making the jump to the Lumia 925? I'm going to say yes, it is, if your budget allows it. Keep in mind the Lumia isn't an updated version of the Lumia 920 but I do see where Nokia did build upon the Lumia 920's weaknesses.

The Lumia 925 is thinner, lighter, has GDR2 and slightly better camera performance. The Lumia 920 has better build quality but that comes at a price of having a thicker and heavier (but not too heavy) phone. You also have that pesky dust issue with the Lumia 920's front facing camera that I haven't experienced with the Lumia 925.

Conclusion

The Lumia 925 has a lot going for it. The design is well rooted and it feels really comfortable to hold. The Lumia 925's 4.5" AMOLED screen really stands out with vibrant colors, deep contrast and super sensitive touch. Add the protection of Gorilla Glass 2 and the Lumia 925's display is solid.

There is that odd looseness we've experienced in the back corners of the Lumia 925. We aren't sure if this "give" is a design quirk or a quality control issue with early production but we doubt the backing will suddenly fall off. It's definitely not a reason to avoid the Lumia 925 like it has cooties. Our advice is to check out the Lumia 925 you're buying first and make sure the backing isn't too loose.

Some may frown at the 16GB of internal storage but it's not the end of the world. It should be enough for most and others... well... others may simply need to have better memory management. Move some of your pictures to your SkyDrive account, keep a few songs off of your phone and uninstall all the trial versions of apps you have never purchased.

I do wish the Lumia 925 had built in wireless charging but that likely was part of the price for a thinner form factor. The Lumia 920's built in wireless charging spoiled many of us and while you can get a wireless charging cover for the Lumia 925, it's just not the same.

While not perfect, all totaled, the Lumia 925 is a worthy option for those looking for a new Windows Phone or their next Windows Phone. I believe it will be hard for you to go wrong with the AT&T Nokia Lumia 925. Of course, there is also something bigger and better coming down the road.

You can find the Lumia 925 at your local AT&T store or online for $99 after contractual discounts and for $429 out of contract.

Implying that because WinFan1 "owns" his phone it is sort of like a slave for him. Oh and "putting it to work" would actually make the phrase even more racist. This is exactly what the World Leader, Rev. Al Sharpton is talking about. Horrible.

The only problem i have with the 920 is the screen. I, and two of my friends who own a 920 each, have experienced some major screen flickering regularly. It flickers incessantly, and sometimes its so apparent that its very easily noticeable, and annoying. Does anyone else face this.? Also, battery on the 925 is said to last a day easily, in this article, but my 920 doesn't last a whole day on 3g, especially with regular WhatsApp usage. Anybody facing similar issues.?

Nah..i have a yellow one..one of my two friends has a red one..while the other has a yellow..battery and screen..both aren't the best on all the three devices...runs long on 2g, but its hardly usable on 2g. :D and the screen flickering annoys the hell out of me at times, especially when i am trying to show my friends something and all they notice is the flickering. I feel like i payed a premium for a sub standard product.. :-/

I was having tons of trouble with my blue lumia i got from warranty. The last time i switched the lady said the colored ones have issues. So i switched back to a black one and have not had a problem ever since

Ohh..but that shouldn't happen. The coloured ones should work just as well as the black and white ones. :D i think I'll give it to the nokia service center and have them repair it..or replace it..i am not sure if they replace the device though. Anyway..thanks for your help mate. Also, is there any way to get an amoled screen from the 925 on the 920.? :D just curious.. ;)

Hmm interesting... I got a 925 from Tmobile not too long ago and when I am in the multitasking pane and I start to swipe left to right to see my open apps, I too notice some flickering in the middle of the screen.

Kind of like the pixels are lagging behind and catch up later, hence they cause this flicker? IDK lol its not a big deal but yeah.

Nah man..no lagging and catching up..its a full blown flicker like it would happen in those gen old tv sets, possibly due to bad cable. :D and it is a big deal mate..its annoying to say the least.. Especially when its very apparent..and big.. :D

The 920s display? Both of my 920s are the cyan variety, and I've never had a problem with the display. Comparing the LCD with AMOLED of the 925 and the 1020 I actually prefer the LCD. (I know I'm in the minority.)

And i wouldn't have cared about the lcd vs amoled screen really..cuz our lcd is also beautiful..but i seemed to realise, from the scenario around me, that the lcd panels have the flickering problem, while the amoled ones don't..that coupled with lower battery consumption..just makes me wish i had the amoled screen on my 920

Please tell me. I have the Lumia 925 on T-Mobile and I've had the 900. How the hell do you take such good pictures. I couldn't get pictures like that if my life depended on it, but I do still get great pictures.

Steady hands do help when the light gets lower. Also, use the screen shutter button instead of the hardware button to avoid motion blur. You can maintain a firmer grip by tapping the screen (gently) than you can by pressing the hardware button.

Excellent full review. A little off topic but do your sources have any news as to whether the 1520 has an amoled or LCD screen? I'm praying amoled like this beaute the 925. The one thing I was jealous about on my gf's 820 was her gorgeous amoled screen versus my 920's lcd

I dunno man. My friend's 925 looks much better with its deeper blacks..and my 920, and my two other friends' 920,have this really annoying screen flickering issue. I really think that's only with the 920 cuz of the lcd screen. You haven't faced any such issue yet..??

So not only is GDR2 perfectly usable and stable for ATT (the internals of the 920 and 925 are so similar, there's no way they don't have an acceptable build for 920 ready to go), but they also strip out DataSense because it's important that customers go over their data limit and pay overages, I guess?

Yeesh.

I have a 920 as my personal phone and an iPhone 4S assigned to me via work. When iOS7 came out yesterday, I plugged my iPhone up to the charger, started the download, and went to sleep. Woke up this morning with a virtually new device, and there will be no delay on 7.01, 7.01, 7.1, etc. either.

Meanwhile, IF GDR2 ever comes out for AT&T 920, it will be butchered, and who knows what features of GDR3 and 8.1 we will be "allowed" to get by our carrier. What a joke.

Flat out there needs to be a lawsuit across all carries that hold up needed updates for phones simply because they want you to buy the next model.. There has to be some wiggle room for a class action lawsuit there somewhere..

And what would be the basis for a lawsuit when your phone still works as intended? Unless it is deemed necessary for security or personal reasons I can't imagine there is any legal obligation for a carrier to provide software updates for a phone. A lawsuit only benefits the lawyers and even then this is such a minor update its amazing that people are making such a fuss about it.

I switched to att with the expectation that my 920 (a "hero" device, remember that?) would continue to receive updates through the life of my contract, aka 8.1 and beyond to wherever we are in Nov 2014. And I will have no qualms about switching carriers and devices (and loudly letting att and MS know about it) if those easy expectations aren't met.

And then there are those of us with HTC Titans on ATT that still are running WP7.5... never got the Tango update that fixed the disappearing keyboard bug.. infact never had a patch ever over the last year and a half. All those on Nokia devices should be thankful that at least they try to shove updates down ATTs throat... HTC just sits and does nothing... and ATT sure isn't going to do anything. My replacement in December will definitely be a Nokia... er Microsoft device.

The question is fairly precise, does the AT&T Lumia 925 have the bands needed for T-Mobile. Given the phone off contract at AT&T is according to the article a full hundred dollars cheaper than the T-Mobile version, and that some may prefer the black, it is a valid question.

Your answers are inprecise and are pretty much just a tautology. Yes, there is a T-Mobile version, rush_ad is well aware of that.

I do not know, but I would assume that the AT&T version of the 925 does not have the bands needed for T-Mobile. But I must emphasize that I have not looked that up.

The 1020 has surprisingly nice feel in the hand. Despite the boxy looking form factor, it fits really nicely in hand and the seamless unibody, smooth matte finish I'd really very nice to hold. I was personally really surprised. No joke. Granted, full disclosure, my last phone was the HTC Titan, with its 4.7 inch display which may have colored my perception in regards to the feel of the smaller 1020 with a 4.5 inch display. But the smooth , unibody matte finish is indeed a quality feel. I have a black one. Its pretty sleek.

I came from a Titan as well so the "larger" body was nothing for me too. I actually like the size and weight of it. It doesn't feel like a delicate feather and actually has some dimension/heft to it without being heavy

</rant>

...next person to complain about a phone's weight has to buy a years membership to Golds Gym so they can lift 1lb dumbbells to build up their sadly wussy-man arms...

</end rant>

Had we waited we could have gotten the 1520 - larger than the Titan with 1/2 the camera of a 1020 with 32GB internal storage and microSD slot, not a bad pkg LOL...but after having an un-updated Titan for 18 months even a 520 probably would have been an improvement ;)

Yeah I was actually coming up to the end of my contract and was intentionally waiting for a "phablet" (not crazy about that word), and had been following the rumors and leaks about the 6" Phablet by Nokia, - "Bandit" - 1520 as it later came to be named. But I got excited, REALLY wanted WP8. I couldn't get 7.8 on my Titan. (I think if I had -that might have held me over a little longer. Sound like that may have been yout experience too.)I checked out the 1020. Really liked it and went for it. If possible I would get the 1520 anyway in addition to my 1020. However thats not likely to happen. :-)Actually with WP 8.1 coming out next year, and from what I've read about Cortana and it's inclusion in that update it might be wise to wait ,for thse who can, for next years hardware that will be released maybe in the second or third quarters.Though the full potential of Cortana will not be present in that update and its development will be progressive,that digital assitant(mobile AI) which will be drawing from the Satori engine, Bing and Social Media - (a huge repository of diverse data) it really looks to be a game changer.I'm thinking that Microsoft may look to leverage the contextual awareness of the software and the data available to it with specifically designed hardware on Windows Phone - tapping into a host of sensors such as the gyroscope, accelloromer, ambient light sensor, barometer, gps, and maybe even somthing new - and linking it to something like the dedicacted M7 chip in the iPhone 5S to provide that "always on awarness" (with lower batter drain) such as is also found in the Moto-X.If Cortana turns out to be all that Microsoft (and we of course) hopes it will be, devices practically designed to to be consistently "aware" via a host of sensors and support of a dedicated processor - allowing the "perception" of location(gps), orientation and motion(gyroscope-accellrometer), light/darkness (light sensor), sound (microphone), air pressure (barometer) - sight (some degree of implementation kinect technology) coupled with a broad knowledge base and integrated with the accumalted personal data it develops for a user providing peronalized interaction is forseeable - in it's beginning stages- beginning with devices that will hit the market, after WP 8.1, is released early next year.All the hardware technology is there(kinect implementationon a mobile device may not be ready), the software will hit first quarter of 2014. Micrsoft with Nokia talent inhouse under it's wings by that time if all goes as planned, can do some really amazing things with that level of software possibilities tightly integrated into Nokia qaulity hardware.

I'd say it's probably tough to dislike any particular windows phone completely when the experience from one WP to the next is basically the same. In the end it comes down to hardware, but again, we don't have a lot of crap hardware in the WP ecosystem because so much of it is regulated my MS (also so many of the phones are made by Nokia and they generally know what they're doing). It's not like android where every phone could be radically different from a competitor's offering. Each way has its pluses and minuses but at the very least I'd guess that's why WP reviews are generally favorable. If one model's good, chances are another model is good, too. :)

Gorgeous phone, and I really, really wanted to get the T-Mobile one (since I'm a T-Mo customer), but lately, I've fallen more for the 1020 and might just wait to get an unlocked Rogers version of that one instead. After having a 920, I feel a tad bit uncomfortable with the idea of going back down to 16GB, even if I forgo adding music to it.

ahhh.... so your latest infatuation is with the 1020! I really do like the look of the 925, but would prefer a choice other than white (as you know I am back on T-Mobile as well). I DEFINATELY understand your concern about the 16 gb issue, it is my number one concern about the 925.

Not really, I have the same problem on my 925. There is a little gap on the back plate next to the volume rockers and it squeaks when I push on it.
A friend of mine has a similar problem but around one corner...
Not horrible, but would have expected a bit better build on the back.

I wasn't so keen on having the USB port at the top of the phone until after I bought my 925. It actually makes using in the car much easier, because the cord comes from the car console and my phone sits on the seat. Having the port there also keeps the cord out of the way on my desk. (I don't have wireless charging.)

Is it me, or has anyone else noticed a certain lack of interest or respect here at wpc for the 928 on Verizon? I read this article looking for comparison of the 925 with the 920 and the 928 (they are essentially the same phone, with minor differences in camera and body, right?). Instead, I get mention of the 920 and the 1020? WTH? The 1020 is Next Gen to the 9xx's, why compare to it in this article, except to point out that ATT is kinda goofy for bringing the 925 in when it had the exclusives on the 920 and the 1020... I mean, what's the need for the 925 on ATT anyway? Seems like a long promotional piece for ATT on a phone that's available elsewhere.
As I read about the specs on the 925, it only confirmed to me that it and the 928 are practically one and the same. So where's the disrespect for the 928 coming from? If you could produce an article comparing the 9xx series, give the pros and cons on each, that'd be more helpful, imo.

The comparison to the 920 and 1020 represent the choices facing a prospective ATT WP customer. The 928 is only available on Verizon; due to the similarity between it and the 925, very few people would consider switching carriers for one over the other. In short, Ponder's choice of which phones to compare the 925 to is entirely logical.

This is the phone that Nokia should have released last year instead of the 920. While die hard users didn't mind the size of the 920, it was the phone's only flaw and what kept it from getting near-perfect reviews by the tech press.

Not true for everyone. I agree about the storage and wireless issues, but I also think that the weight of my 920 is too high. I love it, don't get me wrong, buy after a year of using it I def look forward to a lighter phone.

Actually says nothing about builtin wireless charging. It says "Wireless Charging: Yes" in the spec sheet. That doesn't mean its builtin. The 925 has wireless charging too. But you need a snap on wireless charging case. So they are "Wireless Ready", so to speak.

The 82x is the best of both worlds since the back is removable. For those phones its still an addon accessory, but it feels builtin because you remove the standard back it comes with and snap on the wireless back in its place. I wish they did that with the 925 and 928 but those backs are not removable so they opted for a snapon case

This review is a little too biased. I realize we are all Win phone users/enthusiasts but lets be honest. 16gb is NOT fine for a high end phone with no option for at LEAST 32gb. The usb placement is just darn right stupid. many younger folks play games (and extensive socializing) on these phones for hours and need to be plugged in. Having it teathered at the top is uncomfortable and disruptive vs. having it plug from the bottom. Those points are just glossed over. And what's the deal with this lose fit? First I heard of it. That sounds like a frame design flaw. If this was a Samsung Galaxy we'd be trashing it badly.
Love my Nokia. Love my WP8 OS. But lets be honest with ourselves. This is a step back from the older version 920

of course I'm basing it from a spec sheet (and the review). What else is there to base it on? How it makes me "feel"? LOL. Its a machine. A tool for getting things done. There's nothing to love or hate about it other than what it does to help make my life easier.

Never heard someone call a phone sexy. Maybe a '75 Corvette Stingray, but not a phone. You guys are too romantic LOL

My wife recently was forced to retire her old Samsung Focus S. It was mine initially, and I still feel that was my favorite device. I think I would still be using it if I could get WP8 on it. The feel of that phone is amazing. Yes, I "loved" that machine.

If we can love our cars, why not our phones? The phone is with is at all times, and we're constantly looking at it. And at the price we pay, it's certainly not some throwaway purchase (unless you're a rich dude, I guess). It makes sense we'd gain a certain amount of affection for it.

I felt that way, too. It seemed as though every negative aspect was brushed aside. Any quirks that could be perceived negatively, and I do mean any, are detrimental and should just be mentioned at face value. From that point, potential buyers can decide if it's something they can live with instead of having the reviewer decide for them.

Why many here refuse to believe you, Daniel? The reason I ask is because how can some one make such a statement, yet say you no longer have an account with Sprint, which probably gives you more fuel to bash a carrier.

wait, weren't you the same guy who does not get the carrier bashing? Conflicting stories I say, especially since now I notice defending Sprint is now a major reason to have mods ban anyone who ask for real reasons and some respect here? All I got to say is you are walking on a very thin line, and pray Masayoshi Son and Dan Hesse don't order their legal team to ue you and Mobile Nations for slander/libel as well as other charges which could cost you your employment for Mobile Nations.

Bluetooth (v3.0) - you got to be kidding.............i couldnt see myself considering nokia ever if they cant upgrade to basic tech..... forget NFC and wireless charging, bluetooth is the basic thing and iphone 4 had it 3 years back

Fantastic....I am glad that I switched back to iphone 5 after trying htc ttan for almost a year (being MS fan i loved it but hated so many things were not available other than apps)....I hated bluetooth implementation then but seeing WP 7.5 was still new I excused MS, but 2 years and still not fixed, MS does not have priorities set right....
Its amazing to see that all latest fitness devices are running with bluetooth smart LE and WP continue to live in past....
Nokia is surviving as its a very good company when it comes to hardware and selling 520 for $90 off conract is just amazing..........but looking back at WP phone in last 2 years hardly any progress.....

It does not matter now casue wp will still be 3 years behind as they are hardly catching up, looking back I feel more happy i switched as WP seems like the phone for oldies all latest techs comes on apple first and MS is not even looking close to improve its stats
Biggest flaw was when MS said i cant upgrade my titan to wp8 which was bought 6 months ago and as top of the line device
My iphone 3gs is still serving me with IOS6
I just wish someone make 6" windows 8.1 phone on bay trail T (not windows phone 8) with stylus....thats when i am gonna ditch iphone 5s

I don't understand how it could be worth spending the money to move from my 920 to the 925. They are practically the same phone with a different case, slight camera differences, different screens, and one lacks wireless charging. But the RAM the SoC are identical and the software (GDR2) is coming and will run with identical performance on my 920.

I have to say that if the 1020 didn't exist, I'd have the 925 for sure, and anyone buying a phone today I'd recommend 925 over 920. I've grown accustomed to having the charging shell on the 1020 and don't find it to be a problem/hassle, so I doubt it would bother me on the 925 either.

I'll be the first one to admit that this is a great looking phone, and has pretty good specs, but it's still lacking the one thing that forced me away from the Lumia 920: external memory card storage.
I've been noticing a rather disturbing trend over the last year or so, and it really started with Apple and Google: manufacturers making devices without external storage and telling you that you don't need it, you can use a cloud service for storage (preferably theirs). I'm sick of them telling me what I don't need. Not everyone wants to use cloud storage or finds it as convenient all the time. After all, cloud storage is only good provided you have constant access to it. I'm constantly traveling for work, and I can tell you that there have been plenty of times when I didn't have access to internet. Shocking to the less enlightened, but it does happen.
So what's really the big deal behind why manufacturers aren't doing this as much anymore? I gave up my Lumia 920 for this reason, it's one of the reasons I left the iPhone/iPad behind, I really liked to have gone to the Nexus phone/tablets but same problem. So for the time being, I'm stuck with Galaxy S4/Galaxy Note exactly because they do have external memory card storage.
If there's a Lumia coming with a card slot, I'll return in a heartbeat!

I absolutely agree with your concern. For seven years I lived in an area where I only had 2g service at home. I am on T-Mobile so oftentimes when I was in a building I could barely get phone calls or text, let alone stream music.

So I have a fair amount of contempt for those that insist that 16gb is sufficient. The issue comes up time and again in comments, and so for a fair amount of people 16gb is not sufficient. I think that it is a mistake to limit any "flagship" phone to 16gb, it will dampen sales.

First off not everyone wants to carry a second device with them, so those that don't want to carry around a mp3 player would have some music on the phone. Second it's not sixteen gig because probably four or so is already used up by the OS. So we are really down to 10 to 12 gigs of space.

So congratulations that you feel your phone has sufficient space. However if you look around you will note that not everyone agrees with you.

Yep, I agree. It's my deal-breaker feature---microSD expansion. It's still what keeps me within the fold of Samsung's Galaxy devices, and out of Apple's or Microsoft's mobile hold (although I upkeep and manage two WP devices for my retired parents).

I have got my Lumia 925 yesterday. I notice that the device is heating up at the backside top left just above the camera. It is happening with all the backgrounds apps blocked and all the services turned off and with normal usage like texting. And the battery drained from 100% to 16% with general usage like texting and personalizing. Is it just me and is it a defective peice or is it normal issue?

I'm planning to upgrade the whole family tomorrow; getting my daughter the iPhone 5s as a replacement for her iP4, a pair of 925's for my wife and I (at $49 each) and a couple of Rugby III's for the parents (also at $49). The 1020 was just too much I would never use, and my hoped-for Samsung ATIV never materialized...

Yeah, 16 gb (with only 2/3 of that useable for apps and content) is definitely not something I'm after. Needs to be 32gb minimum.
USB placement on the top, is not great either, I'll agree.
I'm not fully over to WP yet, still rock an SGS3 mainly due to the fact that I'm not a fan of mobile IE at all (I'd love mobile Chrome on WP), and I'd miss my banking apps (Citibank, Bethpage FCU and Sallie Mae). Microsoft needs to allow more access to the WP APIs to developers and also allow competitive browsers on the platform, otherwise the OS will remain niche.

Choices choices! I e played with both, although I can't justify upgrading from my 920 just yet, and I'd say they while the 925 is more stylish, its crippled by the lack of adequate storage. I have to trip out stuff from my 920 with 32Gb! So if you like to store and then watch Videos, play large games like SPS games, keep a large stable of Apps etc the 16Gb will drive you nuts.
It goes without saying that if photography is a key activity for you, then get the 1020.
Your 920 has 16Gb, so that may sound like its plenty, but the step up from WP7 to WP8 primarily allows you access to more and better Apps, and a far better photographic capability. Both of these demand more storage, so unless you hardly use the 16Gb you have, I would go for the 1020. If style and weight are your thing, probably the 925 will be most satisfying. Good luck, its nice to have such tough choices to make!

Just bought myself a lumia 520 on at&t as a new personal media device! Currently on sprint but ill most likely switch as soon as my contract is up! I cant wait to finally have a relevant wp device... Im tired of my HTC Arrive

I own a 925 and the build quality is a huge step up from the plastic shells of the other 900 series phones, but if you’re a power user or business traveler capitalizing on the great features of WP8 you will see a battery discharge rates up to 40% an hour. Ironically, great selling features like a removable battery and SD memory expansion are only available on Nokia’s entry level 520.
If someone at Nokia can get there head around the importance of removal batteries and memory expansion like Samsung has, it would be a substantial consumer centric move forward.

Coming from Windows Central, how can't it get an extraordinary punctuation? But if you want to read an independent review, devoid of any marketing or commercial goals; pure opinion based on a user's experience, better take a look at this:

What do you mean by '(but make sure you check your power button when you first unbox your device)'? The power button on my phone is much flatter and less clicky than the volume rocker and camera button, is this a common problem? It is hard to press compared and sometimes annoying.